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'Friendships between straight girls and queer guys have a rich, complex place in popular culture that is rarely given sustained scholarly attention. In this sharp, original, and wide-ranging book, Christopher Pullen shows us how representations of this "unlikely coupling" work - and how they matter.' Joshua Gamson, University of San Francisco Exploring the archetypal representation of the straight girl with the queer guy in film and television culture from 1948 to the present day, Straight Girls and Queer Guys considers the process of the 'hetero media gaze' and the way it contextualises sexual diversity and gender identity. Offering both a historical foundation and a rigorous conceptual framework, Christopher Pullen draws on a range of case studies, including the films of Doris Day and Rock Hudson, the performances of Kenneth Williams, television shows such as Glee, Sex and the City and Will and Grace, the work of Derek Jarman, and the role of the gay best friend in Hollywood film. Critiquing the representation of the straight girl and the queer guy for its relation to both power and otherness, this is a provocative study that frames a theoretical model which can be applied across diverse media forms. Christopher Pullen is Senior Lecturer in Media Theory at the Faculty of Media and Communications, Bournemouth University. Cover image: Publicity Photo from The North Star, 1943, Dir. Lewis Milestone (c) The Samuel Goldwyn Company/reproduced in Movie Story magazine 1943 Cover design: Richard Budd [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com
List of contents
List of figures
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Hetero Media Gaze
Chapter 2: Queer Gazes and Identifications
Chapter 3: Film and Commodity
Chapter 4: TV and Domesticity
Chapter 5: Documentary and Performance
Chapter 6: Youth, Realism and Form
Conclusion
Select Filmography
References
About the author
Christopher Pullen is Senior Lecturer in Media Theory at Bournemouth University, UK. His research interests relate to the representation of minority identity in the media, with a particular focus on sexual diversity, AIDS, youth and school education. His recent books include: Gay Identity, New Storytelling and the Media (2012), Queer Youth and Media Cultures (2014), and Queer Love in Television and Film (2013) (co-edited with Pamela Demory).
Summary
Examines the emergence of gay male and female heterosexual alliances within contemporary media.
